4.5 stars. I knew this was a book I wanted to read as soon as I heard the premise - 7 women in a hotel room with a dead (male) body. I loved it. But I can keep track of multiple characters/POV. The chapters are written from each woman's perspective, plus the female detective investigating. Each woman had a really good reason to want this man dead. But who did it? Women can put up with a lot from awful men, but watch out when they have finally had enough.

"All of us knew him. One of us killed him...

Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man's severed head sits in the centre of the floor. Each of the women - the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him - has a very good reason to have done it, yet each swears she did not. In order to protect each other, they must figure out who is responsible, all while staying one step ahead of the police.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman's secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

I don't think I've EVER encountered a more heinous murder victim than Jamie Spellman. You'll almost wish you had a hand in his death after reading this wild ride of a novel.
7 women have been meeting together to discuss what to do about Jamie Spellman, the evil man who inextricably links them all. But on New Years' Eve of 1999, the women come together to a gruesome discovery; Jamie's severed head sits among them and no one knows who finally exacted their revenge against him.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-arc.*

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I first want to start by saying that the premise of this book really intrigued me and it sounded so good. However, this was a tough book to get into and I honestly might have DNF it had I not requested and gotten approved for the audiobook version. I feel like the audiobook version drew me in a bit more and helped me finish the book. So where to begin. I guess the first place was the amount of people and POV. It was sooo difficult for someone like me with ADHD to continue to pay attention to who was who and which person had which feelings and what not. I felt so confused for most of the book. There was also so much to unpack for each of the female characters who were under suspicion because Jaime did so much to each of the women to ruin their lives that it wasn’t just cut and dry.

Overall, for a debut novel, I feel like Rose’s writing was pretty strong and it did keep me somewhat engaged. I also feel like the ending of the book is where most of my attention went to and felt like the ending was pretty strong. I would definitely give her books another chance because of the writing style!

This book was a miss for me; unfortunately, it felt choppy with seven povs. I love multiple POVs in stories, but this one was too much.

Also, the ending was a bit flat, considering that I didn't care who killed him but rather what led him to be killed. Overall, it wasn't a book I would read again or one id recommend.

The dead guy in question really is a piece of work. It becomes increasingly clear why he was done in, and the reader is kind of cheering for whomever the murderer ends up being.

A bunch if women were wronged by the same man. They have been meeting to discuss what to do about him….go to the police? Kill him? Except at their last meeting to discuss him, his head is on a table stacked with bibles. Which one of then killed him?

I couldn’t guess. They all had ample reasons to get rid of him! I loved the last 80% of the book the most where it went back in time for each of them women to see firsthand when he did to them while it was happening. I loved that it was told through all the women’s pov. The title was perfect. Jamie is the man all the women want revenge on and he was definitely a smooth talking devil. He hurt these women in all different sorts of ways, gaslighting them along the way to make them feel crazy. There is a lot to unpack in each woman’s story.

If you like crime novels, this will be a great one for you to check out!

Wayyyy toooo manyyyy people to keep track of in one book. I felt confused and I could not keep track of everything. I ended up not finishing

Great premise. The first chapter really grabbed me. I like a good revenge story where every character is a suspect so this worked for me. There were just too many characters to keep track of. 8 POV between the 7 women and the detective. I had to take more notes than usual to keep everything straight. I think less characters would have been better and more focused so each POV could be fleshed out more. For a debut novel I think this was pretty strong and would definitely read something from Rose Wilding again

A narcissistic psychopath destroys the life of seven women while alive and after death. The author creates a twisted character in Jamie Spellman. Readers will find it difficult to put this book down with these very interesting characters. The plot is intriguing with multiple twists and turn. The women each have their hurts and strengths that will make them likeable.

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
Rose Wilding

LEVITICUS 2:19
..”An eye for an eye”

That is the name of the game here with SPEAK OF THE DEVIL by Rose Wilding.

In SPEAK OF THE DEVIL, we have a cast of characters. One of them killed the man in question and all of them have a lot to lose if the police find out. We follow along as the characters try to stay one step ahead of the case to figure out which one of them did it.

This book starts out fast and immediately I found it hard to filter out unnecessary information. There are a lot of characters to keep straight and they’re all sneaky and hiding something.

It felt a bit tiring and what you get in return for keeping everyone straight is not worth it in the end. I gave this one three stars and although it was well constructed there was never enough tension to keep me turning pages.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL…⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seven women gather in a deserted hotel room in a circle around a man's severed head. One of them killed him, but which one? Each one had a reason and each one had a past with him. They want to protect each other, but no one will admit she was the one who did it.

The premise was good on this one, but the execution (no pun intended) left much to be desired. I liked the ending, but it was a struggle to get there. Maybe too many characters to keep straight? I think the story would have been better served with a smaller circle of women.

Available June 13, 2023.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding

This book starts with 7 angry women in a room with 1 dead man. Over the book we learn about each woman’s stories and how they have all had their lives damaged by the same evil man.

This story was so addicting. I really enjoyed the setup and how felt like certain secrets and stories were so well placed along the story line. It was a bit slow as I find most domestic drama/thrillers to be, but the audio was easy to get invested in! The characters were all so unique and interesting, there isn’t one story that I enjoyed more than the others.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @minotaur_books for my copies! The book is out on June 13th.

#speakofthedevil #rosewilding #macmillanaudio #stmartinspress #minotaurbooks #netgalley #audiobooks #listentobooks #bookreview #lgbtqrepresentation #bookthoughts #bookrecommendations #read #booksbooksbooks #bookthoughts #powerfulfemalecharacters

This was an enjoyable read. There were so many characters that I did have a hard time keeping them all straight, but that’s pretty much my only complaint. I loved that the women didn’t know who committed the murder, even though each one of them had plenty of good reasons to want Jamie dead. I don’t think there was any way the reader could guess the guilty party before the reveal and I kind of liked that personally. This is a solid, original debut! If you enjoy revenge stories, pick this one up when it comes out next week.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the gifted ARC and ALC!

*3.5 stars rounded up.

On December 31, 1999, seven women are summoned to an emergency meeting in the top floor suite of a cheap hotel in Newcastle. There, they are in for the shock of their lives: the decapitated head of the man they all hated. They clean up any evidence of their having been in the room and steal away, leaving the grisly head to be discovered by a hotel employee. Detective Inspector Nova Stokoe is called in to lead the murder investigation but almost immediately realizes that her on again-off again lover is somehow involved.

Rose Wilding weaves an interesting mystery around these women and their involvement with the victim, Jamie Spellman, in her character-driven debut novel. She keeps the reader guessing right to the end. Who hated Jamie THAT much? Wilding is a talented new mystery writer and I'll look forward to reading more of her work.

I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review however is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

When Jaime Spellman is found murdered, no one is particularly surprised. He had done a lot of wrong to a lot of people. But as detectives narrow their search 7 women become the prime suspects.

This is one crazy ride my friends. And I mean that in the best way. You get to know all 7 women throughout the story and damn it stays a mystery til the end as to who did it. This is very character focused (and there are a lot of them) so if plot driven storylines are your thing this one may not be for you. If you love learning everyone’s deepest darkest thoughts and feelings while trying to solve a murder then pick this one up now.

I found this to be an odd and intriguing mystery. One decapitated head and a whole lot of legitimate suspects. The victim was not someone to feel sorry for his fate as he had few redeeming qualities. I liked the story of how each character connected to the victim told from their point of view. I was intrigued from the first page and wanted to know who did it. It was paced well as it got to the ending. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A dark suspenseful tale told from numerous women’s perspectives that have all been wronged by the same man. Scene opens with the group of women around his decapitated head, who killed him? The first chapters were amazing and hooked me right in, definitely difficult at times to keep who is who straight and definitely would not do this one on audio as time frame and character speaking changes often. I didn’t figure it out and it kept my interest. Does have some lengthy descriptions at times, F2F romance with some descriptive sex scenes described that i don’t really need in a thriller, spells or the ability to cast a spell that kills, rape, abuse are through your the book, just so you are aware. Would recommend to the right audience but definitely not for everyone.

Thanks to Minotaur books and netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Read/Listen if you like:
😡 Female Rage
🔍 Who Dunnit
👯‍♀️ 7 Women as Suspects
🔪 One Man Dead

This one definitely has a lot going on as we get 8 POV between the 7 women that out deceased had been involved with as well as the detective trying to sus out who revenge killed Jamie as they all have a motive to kill.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns and learning about what he had done to scorn each of the 7 very different women and why they each have motive.

I also really enjoyed the movement of time and the 1999 setting for his murder as that made the book even more immersive.

The ending was absolutely jarring and so interesting how it all came together.

If you want a thriller with lots of movement and female rage I definitely recommend this one!

Thanks so much to Minotaur Books for my ARC!

This story opens with a severed head missing its body. There are seven women with each of their own stories pondering on which one of them has killed this head without a body. They stare at its grotesquely disfigurement knowing each of them carries their own secret connection to, what was once, a human man named Jamie Spellman.

Jamie was the gorgeous type. The type of guy that young and older women craved and lusted after. The funny thing though, the women who have gathered around Jamie’s head, have met him at different stages of Jamie’s life wondering if he deserved to be where he is at this point? One of the women didn’t feel he deserved to be dead, while the other six figured he’d got exactly what was coming to him. What could Jamie have done that was so bad that someone beheaded him? Well, readers, of course you have to read the story to find out what secrets these women have to tell. And, after you’ve done so, the stories of their past will become ensnared in a web of lies, deceit, lust and even murder.

When you’re dealing with a multitude of characters, it can become so messy and convoluted that you forget what is going on. Often, I had to really think about each of the women when it was time for her to tell her connection to the dearly departed, Jamie Spellman. If you put the book down and try to pick it back up, I found it was better to end on one of the women’s stories instead of leaving a chapter undone because that confused me more. I found myself having to go back and see which character was speaking. I have to say, this grated on my nerves because it was entirely too many women to keep up with. But, having said that, once the years past and the present collided and the story began to make sense to me, it got interesting, especially the ending. I had my doubts and suspicions on who killed Jamie, and I’m happy to say I did manage to figure it out. However, having said that, it didn’t take anything away from the story. I had two suspects in mind the entire time and I was on the money.

I really can’t believe I finished this book. It was a strangely intriguing premise but I totally did not care about the characters, who became more unbelievable with every chapter. Strong sexual assault trigger warning. Not recommended.